75 Eldo Front End Noise!!!

[Jeff Pendleton #22546]

Hi, I just purchased a 75 Eldo on Ebay, a mistake but Ill live with it.  The car has a severe grating sound from the front end after a block or two.  Sounds like the drivers-side. Seems to quiet substantially if you turn off-center just a hair to the left.  This works great on curving streets, but otherwise impractical:)

Receipts say the car has had new master cyl. hoses, calipers and pads. Drove 2 miles and burned my finger touching the rotor surface, which looks okay.  Didnt really smell the brakes like they were stuck on.  Ive had that before.  Wonder about bearings or CV joints?  any idea how to best pinpoint?

Thanks, Jeff

[Denise 20352]

  Why was the Eldo a mistake?  I prefer to drive a barge, but for a fun, sporty ride, an Eldo/Toro is great.  I really miss my 70 sometimes.

  Worn CV joints tend to clatter when youre in a turn but shut up when youre driving straight, so that probably isnt it.

  Wheel bearings, a possibility, and they are a pain because from what Ive been told, you basically have to take the knuckle somewhere and have them pressed in and out.  Mine had burn marks from a cutting torch, so obviously the last person to do them felt some pain.

  Brakes, is one wheel hotter than the other?

  Sounds can reverberate in very strange ways, so I would jack up one wheel at a time and check for feel, free play and noise as you spin them.  Isolate it to one wheel if you can.  If youre comfortable with doing it safely, the FWDs have a differential, so you can jack up one (front) wheel at a time, run it in drive and listen.  Be sure to chock the wheels and set the brake if you do.

  One other thing, probably not related, but accelerate and decelerate and see if there is a banging or clunking.  If there is, the damper in the middle of the right axle is worn and youll need to replace the axle, preferably with one that already has the CV joints, and maybe one that is intended to be a left one, so that you dont have that stupid damper in the middle of it.  Theyre not as expensive as you might expect.


-densie

[JIM CLC # 15000]

08-24-05
Jeff, its not un-usual for a brake rotor to be hot after stopping the car, so long as the two in front are of the same tempture after stopping. Please dont ask how one would check the temperture, because they would have to be checked within nanoseconds of each other.
Good Luck, Jim

[Bruce Reynolds # 18992]

Gday John,

Sounds for all the world like the hub bearings are shot.

If you jack up the front, you might be able to wriggle the wheel from side to side and in and out to prove the races have gone south, but there shouldnt be any drinding noise if everything is okay.

Usually, a race problem will show up when going around corners.

It depends which one you load up as you go around the corner, and which side of the car the noise is coming from that will identify which race is the worst.

Bruce,
The Tassie Devil(le),
60 CDV

P.S.   If one race has gone, replace both.   The contamination from one will contaminate the one next to it.

[Jeff Pendleton]

Thanks for the replies!

I think Ill check the bearings first.  I wondered about the cv joint but no, huh?

Anyway, Densie, the reason the car was a mistake is that it was an impulse purchase and turned out to be poorly described with words like like brand new and excellent.  Its not a terrible car, but better words would have been fair, or maybe good.  A phrase like very little rust would have been better than no rust,  It will be okay, I was a little disappointed is wasnt a little more drivable given the description.

Jeff

[Bruce Reynolds # 18992]

Jeff,

I know just how you feel.

Each and everyone has a different meaning for something, and I wouldnt be surprised if the reas of the cars that the seller owned, if he described them, would come up to the same standard as the vehicle you purchased was described.

I found when touring USA in 2002, that Americans think of rust and vehicle condition totally different to us Aussies.   Rust appears to be the norm in most places in USA and an accepted part of motoring, whereas here, rust doesnt usually start until the car is around twenty odd years old, unless it is an early Falcon.

Bruce,
The Tassie Devil(le),
60 CDV

P.S.   Buggered CV joints will usually Click on turns.

[Denise 20352]

  I know what you mean.  There is a New Yorker for sale on Ebay that looks absolutely beautiful, just like the one that I used to have.  Im tempted to call the guy up and ask if I can just stop the auction and buy it, but when you see these cars in person, they dont always match the description or the photos.  Its really best not to buy the car if you cant check it out in advance.

  Fortunately, this one is here in Arizona...hmm...

-densie